April 22, 2002 - I received this camera from Creative Labs a few weeks ago and the only trouble I seem to be having with it is putting it down! It's simply so easy to use and includes such a wealth of software and utilities that you'll have trouble deciding what to try first.

It's a webcam!

The included webcam software will allow you to put a live image on your website in a matter of minutes. Simply connect the camera, start up the WebCam Monitor software, adjust a few settings, and your webcam page is ready to be seen by the world. You can incorporate the webcam image into your existing page, or let the WebCam Monitor software create a basic page for you from one of several supplied templates.

Yahoo! Messenger 5.0 easily recognized that the PC-CAM 600 was connected and I was broadcasting real-time video to family and friends in seconds. I received several comments as to the high quality of the webcam image.

The live image on the left is being captured using free booruWebCam software. Because the PC-CAM 600 is set up using a standard video capture driver, you can use this camera with virtually any webcam software package. You can find several such packages at:DOWNLOAD.COMTUCOWS

It's a digital camera!

Simply unplug the USB cable from the PC-CAM 600 and it's ready to perform as a fully functional digital camera. Powered by 4 AAA batteries and boasting 16mb internal memory, 1.3 megapixels of resolution, built-in flash, and full auto-exposure, this webcam turned digicam takes surprisingly high quality pictures despite it's low price. You can even make movies. With the included video-editing software, you'll be turning out great home-productions in no time.

This is the perfect digital camera for the casual user: No memory cards to deal with, easy to use controls, even a tripod mount - it is point and shoot simplicity.

It's a surveillance camera!

As a surveillance camera, the PC-CAM 600 is fun to play with and very useful at the same time. Setting it up in this manner is very similar to setting it up to use as a webcam: connect the USB cable to the camera, frame your shot, and make a few simple software settings. The camera will now monitor the image for you, alerting you when the image changes. What if you're away from the camera when this happens? Not a problem - you can configure the software to play a .WAV file, send images to your web site, even email you when the image changes. You can now monitor the front entrance to your home from anywhere in the world, and adjustable motion thresholds will assure that you won't receive an email every time your cat strolls by. This is a very useful feature not found with most webcam packages.

Conclusion

When Creative Labs first contacted me about this camera and explained all the features, I honestly expected this unit to be priced much higher than it is. One can certainly pay less for a webcam, but try to find one with all these features for the same or better price - not easy to do! Personally, I think this unit is a good value just for the digital camera features alone.

If you do not have a webcam, or are thinking upgrading, the Creative Labs PC-CAM 600 is worthy of your consideration. Take a few minutes to check out the specs and feature using the links to the left and see if you don't agree.